Category World News

In response to Israeli attacks on its nuclear sites and senior military figures, Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles towards Israel, with some striking targets on the ground.

Although Israel intercepted many of the incoming missiles, several breached its defences, causing significant damage and casualties, including hits on central Tel Aviv and other areas.

The exact size of Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal is unclear, but it is widely considered one of the largest and most advanced in the region.

In the following visual explainer, Al Jazeera unpacks how ballistic missiles work and how they are being used in the ongoing conflict.

How do ballistic missiles work?

Ballistic missiles are long-range weapons designed to deliver conventional or nuclear warheads by following a ballistic, or curved, trajectory.

Launched using powerful rocket engines, these missiles shoot upwards into the upper atmosphere or even space, travelling at incredibly high speeds. Once their engines are cut off, the missile follows a predetermined path, re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere in a steep descent before striking its target.

How far can they travel?

Ballistic missiles can travel distances ranging from a few hundred kilometres to more than 10,000 kilometres across continents.

Ballistic missiles are classified based on their ranges:

• Battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM) – less than 200km (124 miles)
• Short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) – less than 1,000km (621 miles)
• Medium/Intermediate-range ballistic missile (MRBM/IRBM) – between 1,000km and 3,500km (621-2,175 miles)
• Long-range ballistic missile (LRBM) – between 3,500km and 5,500km (2,175-3,418 miles)
• Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) – greater than 5,500km (3,418 miles)

What speeds can they reach?

Ballistic missiles travel at extremely high speeds, allowing them to travel thousands of kilometres in just minutes.

The speed at which they travel is measured in Mach, a unit equivalent to the speed of sound; for example, Mach 5 means five times the speed of sound.

Some, usually shorter-range, ballistic missiles reach supersonic speeds (faster than Mach 1, or about 1,225km/h or 761 miles per hour), while others, usually longer-range missiles, can travel at hypersonic speeds – greater than Mach 5 (6,125km/h or 3,806mph).

How long does it take for Iran’s missiles to reach Israel?

The distance between Iran and Israel is about 1,300km to 1,500km (800-930 miles). Ballistic missiles from Iran travelling at Mach 5 can reach Israel in roughly 12 minutes, though the exact time depends on the missile type and the launch site.

Why are ballistic missiles hard to intercept?

What makes ballistic missiles especially dangerous is their combination of long range, high speed, and how difficult they are to intercept.

Their fast, high flight path gives defence systems little time to react, and when they re-enter the atmosphere, they descend even faster, making interception even more difficult. Some missiles also deploy decoys or other countermeasures to trick radar and missile defences, making them harder to intercept.

What is the difference between ballistic and cruise missiles?

Iran has also used cruise missiles against Israel. Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles fly low and steady like pilotless planes, which helps them sneak past air defences. Although they travel much slower than ballistic missiles, giving air defences more time to intercept, their low flight path makes them harder to detect. Their ability to manoeuvre allows them to change course, fly around obstacles and evade missile defences.

While ballistic missiles from Iran can reach Israel in about 12 minutes, cruise missiles may take almost two hours, and drones can take up to nine hours.

Iran’s missile arsenal

Iran has developed a range of ballistic and cruise missiles over the past three decades. The graphic below summarises some of Iran’s most prominent missiles and their ranges.

Israel’s missile arsenal

Israel has an advanced missile arsenal, including long-range and nuclear-capable systems, developed with decades of support from the United States. The graphic below highlights some of Israel’s most notable missiles along with their respective ranges.

What are Israel’s air defence capabilities?

The Israeli air defence relies largely on what is known as the Iron Dome system, which is equipped with a radar that detects an incoming projectile, as well as its speed and direction.

Other systems intercept medium- and long-range missiles. The David’s Sling intercepts missiles ranging between 40km (25 miles) and 300km (186 miles). The Arrow System intercepts missiles with a range of up to 2,400km (1,491 miles).

Israeli strikes on Iran have hit a hospital in the city of Kermanshah. It’s the latest attack on civilian infrastructure. Iranian officials say 224 people have been killed since Israel launched attacks of Friday.

Organisers shut down the four main Israeli defence company stands at the Paris Airshow. Organisers say the companies refused orders to remove bombs and other offensive weapons from their displays. The airshow organisers say they’re engaging in dialogue to resolve the dispute.

Police in the United States have captured Vance Boelter, accused of fatally shooting a Minnesota lawmaker and injuring another, after a two-day manhunt.

“The face of evil. After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody,” the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post on Sunday.

Here is all we know about the 57-year-old suspect and the case that has rattled the Midwestern state and raised concerns about political violence in the US.

What happened in the Minnesota shootings?

On Saturday, Boelter allegedly shot and wounded state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their home in Champlin city. The Champlin police said they responded to reports of gunfire at the Hoffmans’ house about 2:07am (07:07 GMT).

Boelter is accused of then heading to Brooklyn Park, where he allegedly fatally shot another Democratic lawmaker, Melissa Hortman, a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, and her husband, Mark in their home, about 15km (9 miles) from the Hoffmans’ house.

Authorities said the suspect posed as a police officer and also modified his vehicle, a Ford SUV, to look like a police car.

Who is Vance Boelter?

Boelter, a self-described security professional, was a political appointee on a state workforce development board. Records show that Hoffman was on the same 60-member board, but it is unclear whether Boelter and Hoffman knew each other.

According to state records, Boelter was first appointed to the board in 2016 by then-Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and reappointed in 2019 by current Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, for a four-year term until 2023.

Boelter’s wife filed to create a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services LLC with the same address as the couple’s listed mailing address in Green Isle in Sibley County, according to corporate records. The company offers security services, including contract security guards for sites, including residential properties and schools.

Authorities identified Boelter as a suspect on Saturday, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Walz said Boelter was apprehended on Sunday. “One man’s unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota,” Walz said after Boelter’s arrest.

Law enforcement agents found three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9-mm handgun, a list of  names and addresses of other public officials, a mask and a police-style gold badge in Boelter’s SUV, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Sunday and shared by multiple news outlets.

What is Boelter charged with?

According to the criminal complaint, Boelter is charged with four felony charges: two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder.

According to the complaint, three of these four charges can lead to maximum jail terms of 40 years. His bail is set at $5m.

Boelter is being held in the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday at 1:30pm (18:30 GMT).

Where did police find Boelter?

CBS News, quoting unnamed law enforcement officials, reported that Boelter was arrested near his home in Green Isle. Sibley County is in the south-central part of Minnesota with a population of 14,836, according to the 2020 US Census.

The New York Times also reported that the police found what was believed to be Boelter’s vehicle in Green Isle, 10 minutes from Boelter’s listed address.

What do we know about the victims?

Both Hortman and Hoffman belonged to Minnesota’s Democratic Party-affiliated Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party.

Hortman, 55, had been a Democratic leader in the House since 2017. She also served as the speaker of the House for six years until 2024 when Democrats lost their majority, making way for Republican Lisa Demuth. Hortman and her husband are survived by two adult children.

Initial autopsy reports from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office listed the causes of the Hortmans’ deaths as “multiple gunshot wounds”. The reports said Melissa Hortman died at the scene while her husband died in the hospital.

In 2023, Melissa Hortman helped pioneer protections for abortion rights, safeguarding the status of Minnesota as a refuge for people seeking abortions in the wake of the US Supreme Court ruling overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.

The Champlin police found the Hoffmans with “multiple gunshot wounds”. According to Walz, both underwent surgery. “We are cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt,” Walz said at a news conference, adding that Hoffman was hit by nine bullets.

John Hoffman, 60, was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2012. The Hoffmans have an adult daughter.

Do the shootings have anything to do with the ‘No Kings’ protests?

The Minnesota State Patrol posted photos on its X account on Saturday of papers with “NO KINGS” handwritten on them. “The photo is of flyers inside the vehicle of the suspect in today’s shootings,” the agency posted.

Some No Kings protests, which were critical of President Donald Trump’s policies, were cancelled on Saturday in Minnesota as a result on the recommendation of Walz while other protests commenced as planned. Walz cancelled his scheduled appearance at a protest at the state capital, St Paul, where thousands of protesters gathered outside the State Capitol building, about 40km (25 miles) from where the shootings took place.

The No Kings protests were coordinated across the US on Saturday, Trump’s 79th birthday and the day he hosted a parade in Washington, DC, to mark the US army’s 250th anniversary.

Given the targeted shootings of state lawmakers overnight, we are asking the public to not attend today’s planned demonstrations across Minnesota out of an abundance of caution. pic.twitter.com/7hFccnrQUT

Do we know Boelter’s political affiliation?

Walz said he considers the assassinations “politically motivated” during a news conference on Saturday, but the exact motive is unknown. Al Jazeera has not been able to independently clarify whether Boelter has voted Democrat or Republican recently.

In Minnesota, voters are not required to declare their political affiliations when registering to vote. A report linked to the workforce boards in 2016 and 2020 listed Boelter as having “none or other” affiliation and “no party preference” respectively, The New York Times reported.

However, a man named David Carlson, who identified himself as Boelter’s current roommate, told the Minnesota-based television channel KARE-TV that Boelter voted for Trump in the 2024 election. Carlson said Boelter had not discussed politics recently.

The Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper reported that the police found a list purportedly written by Boelter containing the names of “prominent pro-choice individuals in Minnesota, including many Democratic lawmakers”. The Tribune also quoted Carlson saying that Boelter “really hated abortion” through the 1990s.

The AP reported that Carlson also read texts to reporters that Boelter had sent to friends: “I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way. … I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”

How have authorities reacted?

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the attack “appears to be a targeted attack against State Lawmakers”.

Trump added: “Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!”

Minnesota’s House speaker said in a statement: “I am devastated by the loss of Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman. She was respected by everyone at the Capitol as a formidable advocate for her values and her caucus. She battled fiercely, but never let it impact the personal bond that we developed serving as caucus leaders. Few legislators have had as large an impact on the State of Minnesota, and she was a nationally-recognized leader in energy policy.”

As Israel and Iran exchange deadly salvoes for a fourth day, there are growing concerns that the conflict will spread across one of the world’s key oil- and gas-producing regions. Equity markets initially were roiled after Israel’s surprise attack on Friday but have since stabilised.

A day after Israel killed several of Iran’s top military commanders and nuclear scientists and damaged some of its nuclear sites, Israel then hit Iran’s fossil fuel sector on Saturday with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at the South Pars gasfield. More than 220 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks, including at least 70 women and children, according to Iranian authorities.

Iran responded with a barrage of ballistic missile and drone strikes, a small percentage of which succeeded in penetrating Israeli defences, killing at least 24 people.

On his Truth Social platform, United States President Donald Trump warned Tehran that the next “already planned attacks” would be “even more brutal”, adding: “Iran must make a deal [on its nuclear programme] before nothing is left.”

As the conflict between the Middle East’s two most powerful militaries spirals towards a full-fledged war, financial markets and the aviation sector are taking a hit. Analysts are watching oil prices, and investors are turning to safe havens like gold.

And a full-blown war could make things even worse – much worse, experts warned.

What has happened to the price of oil?

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rallied to $74.60 per barrel early on Monday.

That marked an almost 7 percent increase from Thursday, the day before Israel launched its surprise attack.

Much of the world’s oil and other key commodities such as natural gas pass through busy sea lanes in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz.

The strait, a narrow waterway separating Iran from the Gulf states, links the Arabian Sea to the Indian Ocean.

It is a conduit for one-third of the world’s seaborne oil supplies, channelling roughly 21 million barrels every day.

At its narrowest point, it is 33km (21 miles) wide. Shipping lanes in the waterway are even narrower, making them vulnerable to attack.

The conflict between Israel and Iran has revived a decades-old question of whether Tehran will close the maritime chokepoint, triggering an oil price rally.

Quoting key conservative lawmaker Esmail Kosari, the Iranian news agency IRINN reported that Tehran is considering closing the strait as the conflict with Israel intensifies.

According to Goldman Sachs, a worst-case scenario involving blockades in the Strait of Hormuz could push oil prices above $100 per barrel.

Still, during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, in which both countries targeted commercial vessels in the Gulf, Hormuz was never completely closed.

What’s more, attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz would likely disrupt Tehran’s own exports, especially to China, cutting off valuable revenue.

According to Hamzeh Al Gaaod, an economic analyst at TS Lombard, a strategy and political research firm, “the repercussions to closing off the strait would be severe for Tehran itself.”

Have global inflation rates been affected?

When oil prices rise, the cost of production also goes up. This is eventually passed on to consumers, especially for energy-intensive goods like food, clothing and chemicals.

Oil-importing countries around the world could experience higher inflation and slower economic growth if the conflict persists.

Looking ahead, analysts warned that central banks would face reduced policy flexibility in trying to control rising prices.

“Central bankers from the G7 are currently on an [interest rate] cutting cycle, and so will be worried about a potential energy price shock,” Al Gaaod told Al Jazeera.

The Bank of England has recently slashed the United Kingdom’s base interest rate to 4.25 percent although the US Federal Reserve has held off on cutting rates in the wake of Trump’s tariffs, imposed on almost all countries since he returned to power in January.

How have markets responded?

Wall Street has taken a hit. On Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices shed 1.1 and 1.3 percent, respectively. In the Middle East, Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 index fell 7.7 percent on Sunday while the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange 35 Index dropped 1.5 percent.

European equities also drifted down on the news of Israel’s attacks. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell a little more than 1.1 percent at the end of last week while the UK’s FTSE 100 ended 0.5 percent lower on Friday.

Still, some UK companies rallied. BAE Systems, a defence contractor, was up almost 3 percent on Friday, reflecting concerns that tensions could escalate.

In the US, share prices of military suppliers, including Lockheed, Northrop Grumman and RTX, also rose.

Elsewhere, oil companies BP and Shell gained in value with the former closing nearly 2 percent higher and the latter closing at just more than 1 percent higher.

The price of gold was also trading about 1 percent higher on Friday at $3,426 an ounce, close to the record high of $3,500 it hit in April.

On Monday, investors tempered some of their risk-off positioning with oil and gold prices falling and stock prices rising.

“It seems that markets are anticipating the conflict will remain relatively contained. Crucially, Iran has not attacked any US military assets in the region,” Al Gaaod said.

What has the impact been on the aviation sector with airspace closures?

Several airlines have suspended or cancelled flights in the Middle East, and some countries have shut their airspace.

Here is a list of some suspended and rerouted flights:

• Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline, said it has suspended flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran until June 30 with flights to Lebanon halted until Sunday.
• Etihad Airways has cancelled all flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv until Sunday. The airline is also rerouting several other services and has advised customers to await updates regarding their flight status.
• Qatar Airways has temporarily cancelled flights to Iran, Iraq and Syria due to ongoing tensions with passengers advised to check the status of their flights before travel.

Elsewhere, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that aviation authorities have shut down the country’s airspace until further notice.

On Friday, Iraq also closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported. Eastern Iraq is home to one of the world’s busiest air corridors. Dozens of flights cross there at any one moment, flying between Europe and the Gulf – many on routes from Asia to Europe.

Jordan’s civil aviation authority said it had “temporarily” closed Jordanian airspace “in anticipation of any dangers resulting from the escalation happening in the region”.

For Al Gaaod, “there may be short-term disruption for Middle East tourism but only for a month or so. I suspect tourism will bounce back.”